May 2, my.] TKfi TROPICAL AGRlCULTU1^13f. 



765 



The Colonization Society of 1849 in Hamburg has 

 not faithfully executed its contract which was to in- 

 trocluce annually 1,000 immigrants. Under a clause 

 in the contract which allowed the completion in the 

 following year of the total for any one year, the 

 company need only briug into the country a sufficient 

 number last year to complete the contract for the 

 preceding. Not even so was the total made up, for 

 only 954 immigrants arrived for 1884 and none for 

 1885. A fine was imposed for non->execution of the 

 contract in 1884, but as no penalty is marked for 

 complete evasion of the contract in 1885, against which 

 the subvention for six months had been paid, the 

 minister suspended further payments to such a time 

 as the company shall fulfil its engagements. 



The Government proposes to spare neither efforts, 

 aor sacrifices to attract colonists and immigrants, and 

 if furnished with means proposes to organize a regular 

 propaganda in favor of European emigration to Brazil ; 

 to aid in the transportation of the emigrant from his 

 residence in Europe to his destination in the Empire ; 

 to reorganize the service of surveys and sales of public 

 lands, so that the immigrant may meet ready and 

 convenient establishment. 



The propaganda will promote emigration by ren- 

 dering Brazil favorably known and will do away with 

 so-called official immigration agents. Exercised un- 

 der the responsibility of the Government, openly, 

 without tricks or prevarications, the propaganda will 

 certainly produce excellent results, as happans with 

 other countries which have used it as a powerful in- 

 strument to attract immigration. 



Oircumstances render necessary the advance or 

 payment of passage money. This may be effected 

 in various manners, viz., payment in full of passage 

 to the immigrant ; by a reduction on the fixed price ; 

 or by the advancing of the cost, in full or in part, 

 with an obligation of re-payment. However onerous 

 the assistance may be to the State it cannot be 

 avoided, as the sincere desire of the Government is 

 to develop immigration. It is not meant to pay, nor 

 to indiscriminately advance passage moneys ; the pay- 

 ment of full cost might be exclusively restricted un- 

 der the law of September 28th, 1885, to immigrants 

 who establish themselves on agricultural settlements, 

 the reduced price could be extended to a limited 

 number of immigrants who may establish themselves 

 in the country as proprietors, and the advance with 

 the obligation of re-payment would be extended to 

 such as fix themselves in nuclei created by Govern- 

 ment, and subject to colonial regimen for a certain time. 



The prompt and convenient settlement of the 

 immigrant being the principal pre-occupation of the 

 Government, the pre-eminent necessity arises for its 

 preparation as to sales of well situated and appropriate 

 lands, surveyed and divided, to the immigrant. This 

 is the base stone of the administrative plan of the 

 Government. To promote the arrival of the immi- 

 grant, to pay or advance his passage money and 

 then give him an unfit establishment, is to advance 

 a step and immediately retreat, to the sacrifice of the 

 legitimate interests of immigration, 



^yith these seemingly practical measures, the minis- 

 ter believes the service of immigration may be fairly 

 organized, to which a necessary addition will be the 

 reform of the location of services law, to the end 

 of abolishing imprisonment for non-compliance with 

 contract by the colonist, and the nullification of con- 

 tracts made abroad to have force in the Empire. 



The Government will present a law for reforming 

 the land law of 1S50. The principal acts of the ad- 

 ministration touching the subject of immigration were 

 the continued suspension of the payment of passages, 

 because the minister on assuming office found there 

 were at the department applications to introduce 

 40,000 immigrants, while the Gorvernment only had 

 disposable 1,926 lots of land, surveyed and divided, 

 or only about room for 10,000. Various commissions 

 were organized to expedite the surveying of lands. 

 Slavery 



The minister is happy to annouiace that law No, 

 9;270, dated !?epterober 38tb, 1885, for tbe gradual 



extinction of slavery, has been met throughout the 

 Empire, as to its execution, with the same zeal 

 and respect as was extended to law No. 2,040, dated 

 September 28th, 1871. All classes of society are per- 

 suaded as to the inevitable necessity of a solution 

 of this great problem, with such precautions as are 

 necessary in a subject so intimately connected with 

 interests of the greatest importance, in a manner 

 definitive and safe, although slow. 



Although the number of 60 year old slaves was not 

 known with certainty, the following table will furnish 

 an idea of the average of emancipations under law 

 No 3,270 of September 28th, 1885:— 



Provinces. Emancioationt. 



Rio de Janeiro 11,035 



Espirito Santo 1,224 



Parahyba 602 



Pernambuco 3,204 



Alagoas 1^072 



Marauhao 665 



Parana 278 



S. Paulo 363 



Goyaz 213 



.Sta. Catharina 108 



Minas Geracs 18,595 



MattoGrosso 231 



Rio Grande do Sul 213 



Rio de Janeiroj Municipality 3,055 



40,668 

 (This table adds up 40,858.) 



[It is only just to call sp'^cial attention to the 

 fact that the efforts of Sr. Prado to collect full 

 statistics for the above table have been met with 

 something like obstruction. His native province, S. 

 Paulo, shows unfavorably in this matter; for with 

 a very large slave population, only three districts of 

 that province reported in seassn for the preparation 

 of the minister's relatorio. — Eds. 1^cws.\ 



The law of 28th September, 1871, ha« been scrupu- 

 lously observed and the following table shows the eman- 

 cipations under its clauses, up to the latest inform- 

 ation : — 



Provinces. Emancipatient. 



Amazonas ... ... ... 52 



Para ... ... ... ... 566 



Maranha... ... ,.. ... 1,408 



Piauhy ... ... 710 



Oeara ... ... ... ... 1,805 



Rio Grande do Norte ... ... 320 



Parahyba ... ... ... 78.S 



Pernambuco ... ... ... 2,249 



Alagoas ... ... ... ... 734 



Sergipe ... ... ... ... 659 



Bahia ... ... 3,202 



Espirito Santo... ... ... 422 



Miinicpio IVeutro. (capital) ... 754 



Rio de Janeiro ... ... ... 4,115 



S. Paulo ... ... 2,791 



Parana ... ... 200 



Sta. Catharina ... ... ... 355 



Rio Grande do Sul ... ... 1,403 



Minas Geraes ... ... ... 4,230 



Goyaz ... ... ••• .•= 97 



Matto Grosso ... ... ... 138 



Total 24,165 



(This table adds up 27,166.) 



There have been six distributions of the emancipa- 

 tion fund employed, and the seventh, amounting to 

 2,000,000s was authorized on April 7th last. 



The total cost of freeing the slaves is stated to have 

 been as follows : — 



Emancipation fund 16,443,682 $372 



Contributions from freedmen and 



others 972,902,663 



17,416,585$035 



On 30th June last, the slave population was estim- 

 ated to be 1,133,228, or 107,578 less than in the 

 preceding year ; from the total, however, the s#x» 

 Agenarian elared do not eeeta to bv deducted, 



